Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Sells 6,083 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 438,846 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 6,083 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 3.4% of Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $188,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tyler Stone Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 118.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 21,479 shares of the software giant's stock worth $9,242,000 after buying an additional 11,633 shares during the last quarter. Truxt Investmentos Ltda. bought a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter worth about $11,126,000. Round Rock Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% in the third quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 36,426 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $15,674,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Riverstone Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the third quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 4,510 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,941,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. now owns 12,468 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,365,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of MSFT traded up $10.36 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $426.03. The stock had a trading volume of 8,688,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,715,867. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $429.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $426.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $384.81 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.99 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut Microsoft from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $511.62.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.